Winter weather might be worse than last year

Winter weather may be on the way soon. More road salt is going to be needed this year than last year

We might be in for a worse winter than last year, according to City of Chilliwack’s meteorological report.

The discussion came up at the last council meeting as one councillor wanted to know how much road salt was estimated to be needed to hasten snow melt, and make roads safer.

The long range weather forecast by the city’s contracted meteorologist indicates this winter will be worse than 2012. They get daily forecasts when the weather turns nasty.

Coun. Stewart MacLean asked city staff how much salt is expected to be needed.

An estimated 2500 tonnes was the answer from public works officials, as to what they’ll order, and they figure they’ll use about 2000. Last year, considered a light year, they spread a total of 500 tonnes, but in a bad year for the ice and snow, they can thrown down as much as 5000 tonnes.

Road salt is used in the brine spread on roads, which is a mix of salt and water, as well as in the mixture of sand and salt.

If temperatures dip below zero, out come the brine trucks to spray the majority of Chilliwack roads, particularly the hillsides.

The brine soaks into the asphalt appearing as faint, white stripes, and prevents ice from bonding to the road surface, making for safer driving conditions.

Council voted to accept the quote from McTar Div. of Lafarge Canada for $90.50 per tonne of road salt for the 2013-14 season.